Kalahari Resort-Round Rock

December 26, 2022December 26, 2022Leave a comment

We tried something new for Christmas vacation this year and decided to book a few nights at the indoor water park, Kalahari. The park is advertised as the largest indoor water park and it’s not too far away from us, about 2.5 hours. It’s located in Round Rock, TX which is just outside of Austin. On the day of departure we loaded up the car and the boys and headed off on our little adventure.

To be completely honest I didn’t have very high expectations, I am not a water park fan. Kalahari completely changed my mind, I absolutely loved it! More importantly, our boys loved it too!

We were a little nervous that there wouldn’t be many activities for the littles but half the park was designed just for them. My toddler went down so many slides, floated the lazy river, and enjoyed all the water table activities with his baby brother. We spent hours splashing around and playing in the water. I do have to say it was a tad bit chilly but we acclimated quickly. The water is kept at 84* but good ole Texas was having some pretty cold weather and we could tell while in the park. Anytime the boys seemed chilly we just hopped in the giant hot tub for a few minutes. Overall it wasn’t too bad.

The water park is the resorts biggest attraction but it also has an enormous arcade and adventure park with rides and activities such as rock climbing, bowling, escape rooms and several other things. We spent a good amount of time in the adventure park playing kid friendly games with our toddler. He’s never been to an arcade and absolutely loved all the games. He was even able to pick some pretty cool prizes with all the tickets we won.

Kalahari also has several resultants and shops which we took full advantage of. Before we left I followed the advice of my fellow travelers and we stopped at the store to pick up snacks and easy meals for the kids. Our room had a microwave and fridge so we were able to do simple breakfasts and lunches in the room. We did however grab pizza at the Italian restaurant, cocktails at the lounge, coffee and desserts at the cafe, and on our last night we had dinner at the resorts burger place. The food was pretty good, priced as you would expected for a resort. I’d definitely eat there again, it was super convenient and there were quite a few restaurants to choose from.

This place had any and everything you could possibly need to have a wonderful family vacation. Since it was the holiday season the resort was decked out in beautiful Christmas decor and made our trip that much more magical. I would definitely recommend Kalahari Resort to anyone looking for a family vacation. As a matter of fact, I’m already planning next years trip!

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Our Next Greatest Adventure has Arrived

April 20, 2022May 5, 2022Leave a comment

It’s hard to put into words the overwhelming emotions you feel as a mom. Pure joy, immense anxiety, constant uncertainty, a sense of accomplishment and most of all the inexplainable, unconditional love just to name a few. Over the past few years I experienced all of these and more; being a mom is the toughest and most rewarding role I’ve ever played and I wouldn’t change a second of it.

On April 13th we welcomed sweet baby L into the family and our party of 3 became a party of 4. I am now officially outnumbered because, surprise, it’s another boy! I knew in my soul I was destined to be a boy mom and I’m okay with that. How can I not be when I look at my sweet, perfect little boys?!

When we welcomed baby O into our world a few years ago everything was so fresh and new. We were terrified and excited to become parents and had no idea what to expect. It took a lot of adjusting but we figured it out (and are still figuring it out daily with our wild toddler !). Surely we would have it all figured out with baby #2…

While I was pregnant with baby #2 I constantly worried about being able to divide my time between 2 little humans. How could I possible love someone as much as I love baby O? How will baby O feel when he’s not the center of our universe? All of these self-doubting questions and more popped up while we prepared to become parents one more time.

I expected baby #2 to arrive early because baby O did but boy was I mistaken. After almost 2 weeks of doing EVERYTHING to induce labor naturally we finally made the decision to be induced on April 13th, bright and early.

I dreaded labor and delivery but it honestly wasn’t nearly as bad as I remembered. I went in pretty confident in my birth plan and better prepared for postpartum recovery. After a full day of laboring and a few minutes of pushing, baby L finally graced us with his presence at a whopping 8 lbs 15 oz. We were blessed with another happy, healthy baby boy and it was time to figure out the new normal.

I remember holding baby L in the hospital, looking at his cute little chunky face and I still had that nagging question that filled me with mom guilt what would baby O think? I was ready to go home and introduce my sweet boys but the hospital had another plan. We had to stay an extra night, which meant one more night away from my O, I was not happy.

Thank God for my husband because the next morning he went all the way back to the house to pick baby O up from my mom and bring him to meet his baby brother.

Their first meeting couldn’t have gone better. O was a little nervous but determined to hold and kiss his new “brobber”, and of course we let him. We spent the whole morning together and O did great. There were minimal tears when we had to take him home but I knew watching them together that it would all be fine.

We still have some adjusting to do but 3 weeks in we are finding our new normal. O gets plenty of mommy and daddy time and is learning the ropes with his baby brother. He helps bring him his blankie, sings him songs, and does his very best to snuggle baby L gently. I know my boys will forever have each other and share the same unconditional love.

To all the moms out there with unanswered questions just know it will all work out 💙

Without further ado, meet the newest member of The Beam Family.

Los Angeles Summer Adventure

June 20, 2019Leave a comment

Once again we knocked out another fabulous trip. We laid on the (cold) beach, we explored downtown, we visited museums, but most importantly we allowed ourselves to relax!

Everyone knows we love the beach, even a chilly beach like we experienced on this trip. I refused to go in the water but the bearded one was fearless and jumped right in. Once we warmed up, we walked around the Santa Monica Pier. I know it’s overly touristy but I just love the pier. There’s so much to see and experience, it’s a must if you’re in LA.

We spent the next few days of our trip exploring the city. We visited art museums, a beautiful bookstore, and the local farmers market (which I could have stayed at all day!). We literally walked miles on this trip and I still don’t think we saw enough. There’s always something to do in Los Angeles; around every corner and down every street you will find museums, art galleries, restaurants, and so much more!

Other then spending time with my brother, my absolute favorite part of LA was this pop up experience we decided to go to. It was called the I Like Scary Movies Experience and it was fabulous! We were able to experience interactive art exhibits that represented different horror films such as Nightmare on Elm St., The Shining, and quite a few more. The creativity and interactive art was the perfect way to end our first summer adventure.